An adage from the 19th century says “there is no such thing as a free lunch.”

The saying refers to American bars which were offering a “free lunch” in order to attract drinking customers.

Heading into this fall’s midterm elections, a number of liberal candidates — especially those social Democrats on the far left — are using their own version of the government “free lunch” to entice potential voters. It’s ridiculous to believe, however, that government social programs come without a cost.

Taxpayers are paying for the “free lunches.”

A number of potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are already on board the “free public college tuition for everyone” bandwagon. They include Bernie Sanders and Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who co-sponsored Sanders’ “Medicare for all” bill; Corey Booker of New Jersey; Kamala Harris of California; and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.

They also endorse a federal jobs guarantee, a $15-an-hour national minimum wage and favor Medicare for all.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became an instant Democratic superstar with the liberal media after outworking veteran Joe Crowley, the fourth most powerful House Democrat, to win the primary in New York’s 14th Congressional District.

Her victory also pumped new blood into the Sanders’ socialists’ wing of the party. After the primary upset, a number of liberal voices proclaimed Ocasio-Cortez the future of the Democratic Party and said that the socialist brand is going mainstream.

With more than 44 million Americans struggling with $1.4 trillion in debt and with the average student borrower being $28,000 in debt at graduation, student loan debt is a hot-button issue for young adults.

The statistics are even more sobering in Pennsylvania, which leads the nation in money that must be paid back in school-related expenses. The average student debt in the Keystone State is $36,193. That’s an increase of nearly 2.9 percent from the $35,185 reported for the class of 2016.

A new study by LendEDU surveyed in 2017 showed that six of the country’s 10 public colleges with the highest average student debt are in Pennsylvania.

The federal government’s student loan forgiveness programs, designed to lessen the burden of school debt, has become a black hole over the past decade. In 2007, when many of the programs launched, the Congressional Budget Office projected they would cost just $4 billion over the 10 years ending in 2017.

An audit from the Department of Education’s inspector general found that between fiscal years 2011 and 2015, the cost of programs that allow student borrowers to repay their federal loans at a rate proportional to their income ballooned from $1.4 billion to $11.5 billion.

A free public-tuition giveaway would add $32 trillion to the national debt over the following decade. Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center estimated the original Sanders’ plan would add $3 trillion in interest costs alone, calling it “an unprecedented increase in government borrowing.”

The socialists’ attempt to push for massive social programs to cover their promises for free government handouts puts me in mind of the Joker character played by Jack Nicholson in the first Batman movie.

“And now, folks, it’s time for ‘Who do you trust!’ Hubba, hubba, hubba! Money, money, money! Who do you trust? Me? I’m giving away free money,” the Joker gloats as he throws out handfuls of cash to the “little people” of Gotham.

As the liberal media swoons over Ocasio-Cortez, who they’ve anointed as the latest Democratic superstar, keep in mind that those train loads of free things she’s promising come at a price.

As one pundit stated, “socialism doesn’t come cheap.”

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com